


Wikipedia Article: The Met Gala Heist

by Tanaqui



Category: Ocean's 8 (2018)
Genre: Gen, In-Universe Publication - Wikipedia/Encyclopedia Entry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-12
Updated: 2019-10-12
Packaged: 2020-12-09 04:03:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20988548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tanaqui/pseuds/Tanaqui
Summary: You don't expect a Wikipedia article to provide a complete picture or be entirely accurate, do you?





	Wikipedia Article: The Met Gala Heist

**Author's Note:**

  * For [fencesit](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fencesit/gifts).

> Not all of the links lead to real content, but many of them do. Thanks to my usual beta for her work on an unusual "story".

####  **The Met Gala Heist**

**The Met Gala Heist** refers to the theft of the Toussaint, a necklace containing 6lb of diamonds, during the 2018 edition of the annual Costume Institute Gala (commonly known as the [Met Gala](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Met_Gala)), which is organised by [Vogue](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vogue_\(magazine\)) and held at the [Metropolitan Museum of Art](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_Museum_of_Art) in New York City.

#### Contents 

The 2018 Met Gala  
The Toussaint at the 2018 Met Gala  
Disappearance of the Toussaint  
Investigation and Recovery  
Trial and Conviction  
Other conspirators  
References

**The 2018 Met Gala**

The 2018 edition of the Met Gala was held on 7 May 2018 in the [Costume Institute](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Wintour_Costume_Center) of the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Fifth Avenue, New York City.[1] The Gala, which marked the formal opening of the Costume Institute’s annual exhibit, took its theme of _European Royalty_[2] from the 2018 exhibit, _The Sceptre and the Orb: Historical Fashion of European Royalty._[3] The centerpiece of the exhibit was a collection of [crown jewels](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crown_jewels) from eight royal families of Europe, on loan from Russian businessman Dmitri Aleksandrovich Bezukladnikov. The co-host for the event was actor and director Daphne Kluger.

**The Toussaint at the 2018 Met Gala**

Kluger selected[4] Irish-born designer Rose Weil[5] to dress her for the Gala. Taking her inspiration from the exhibit, Weil requested the loan of the Toussaint necklace from jewelers [Cartier](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartier_SA) for the evening. The necklace, named for Jeanne Toussaint, Cartier’s director of jewelry from 1933-1968, was acquired by Cartier after Toussaint’s death and had not been publicly displayed since Cartier acquired it.

Cartier was initially reluctant to loan out the piece, but agreed on the basis that the necklace would be insured for $150 million and that a security team appointed by Cartier would accompany it for the entire time it was out of the vault. The insurance was placed by Ross & Milch Insurance Solutions Ltd, a [broker](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insurance_broker) at [Lloyds of London](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lloyd%27s_of_London), and underwritten by SPD Insurance, a [Lloyds of London syndicate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syndicate%23The_UK-based_Lloyd's_of_London_Insurance_Exchange_Model). The security team consisted of Guillermo deVita, formerly head of security for the [Pope](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope), and Yuri Eshel, who served with both [Mossad](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mossad) and an [IDF](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_Defense_Forces) [Special Forces unit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_special_forces_units). Cartier is reported to have implemented additional undisclosed security measures.[6]

**Disappearance of the Toussaint**

The Toussaint, secured in a locked case, was taken from the vault at Cartier’s Fifth Avenue Mansion on the afternoon of 7 May and transported to Kluger’s apartment by [armored car](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armored_car_\(valuables\)). The transport was accompanied by the security team of Eshel and deVita.

Later that day, Eshel and deVita accompanied Kluger as, wearing the necklace, she travelled by limousine to the Gala venue. On arrival, Kluger — who was accompanied by Weil and her companion for the evening, art gallery owner Claude Becker — was interviewed by Vogue red carpet host [Edward Barsamian](https://www.vogue.com/contributor/edward-barsamian) before attending the cocktail reception and viewing of the Costume Institute exhibit. Video and photography, as well as museum security camera footage, show Kluger wearing the necklace, with Eshel and deVita present throughout.[7]

During the Gala dinner which followed, held in the museum's Sackler Wing, Kluger became nauseous and entered a nearby [public restroom](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_toilet), where she vomited.[8] Eshel and DeVita did not accompany her into the restroom, as it was for women only. When Kluger emerged, she was no longer wearing the Toussaint.

The venue was evacuated and a thorough search of both venue and venue staff was carried out. Guests were apparently not searched. A necklace identical in appearance to the Toussaint was subsequently recovered from the moat beside the dining venue by a member of Vogue's organising team.

At the end of the event, Eshel and deVita accompanied Kluger to her apartment, where the necklace was returned to its case before being transported back to Cartier’s Fifth Avenue Mansion, again by armored car. On arrival at Cartier, the necklace was examined for damage by Lawrence Robichaux, Cartier’s head of jewelry (US). Robichaux immediately identified that the necklace that had been returned was a fake replicated in [cubic zirconia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cubic_zirconia).

This was the second breach in the museum’s security systems in a matter of weeks. On 19 April 2018, a small pastiche of Emanuel Leutze’s _[Washington Crossing the Delaware](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Crossing_the_Delaware_\(1851_painting\))_, which replaced the male figures in the painting with women, was hung next to the original. The act was widely attributed to guerrilla artist [Bansky](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banksy), although the perpetrator was never definitively identified.[9]

**Investigation and Recovery**

The theft of the Toussaint was reported to the [New York Police Department](https://www1.nyc.gov/site/nypd/index.page) in the early hours of 8 May 2018.[10] In addition to the investigation by the NYPD, which initially proved inconclusive, an investigation was also carried out by John Frazier, chief investigator at SPD Insurance.[6]

Frazier identified that the door to the restroom entered by Kluger was in a “blind spot" in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s security camera coverage. This — along with the earlier security breach — led Frazier to include Kyle McCallister, vice president of McCallister Security, which provided the museum’s security systems, in his initial list of suspects. Other suspects included Conor Donovan, a bus boy who was the only person seen moving into and out of the “blind spot" during the time Kluger was in the restroom, as well as Kluger herself and Claude Becker, Kluger’s date.[6]

Frazier also identified that convicted fraudster — and former associate of Becker — Deborah Ocean[11] was present at the event, despite not being included on the guest list or event staff roster. Ocean was captured on security camera footage in the vicinity of the restroom where the necklace was stolen, as well as in other locations at the venue during the evening. As Ocean was visible on security camera footage from the time Kluger entered the restroom wearing the Toussaint to when she exited the restroom without it, Frazer was forced to conclude Ocean could not be prosecuted for the theft.[6]

After a tip-off, Frazier arranged for search warrants for Becker's New York apartment and personal and business bank accounts. The centrepiece of the Toussaint, containing the distinctive 33.18 carat [Star of Serendip](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_diamonds), was found in a pocket of a tuxedo worn by Becker to the Gala. Four payments totalling $85 million, in the form of [cashier's checks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cashier%27s_check) issued by auctioneers Yardley's, were deposited in an account in the name of Becker Holdings, LLC, which was solely controlled by Becker. The payments were associated with the sale of items of jewelry by four women who had provided false identities and could not be traced. When the four lots were recovered from the purchasers, they were found to contain all the remaining diamonds from the Toussaint, some still partially in their original setting.[15][16]

Cartier was subsequently able to reconstruct the Toussaint from the recovered diamonds.[6]

**Trial and Conviction**

Becker was arrested by officers from the NYPD on 23 May 2018 and charged with grand larceny in the first degree.[12] Becker engaged celebrity criminal defense lawyer [Benjamin Brafman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Brafman) and pleaded not guilty at his arraignment on 24 May 2018.[13] Becker was denied bail on the grounds he was a flight risk and was remanded to the Metropolitan Correctional Center, New York.

Becker's trial was held in October 2018 in front of the [United States District Court](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_district_court) for the [Southern District of New York](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_District_Court_for_the_Southern_District_of_New_York). At the trial, Brafman initially argued, unsuccessfully, for all the evidence against Becker to be ruled inadmissible as the NYPD lacked sufficient probable cause to obtain the search warrants for Becker's apartment and bank accounts.[14] When Brafman's motion was dismissed, he then argued that Becker had been set up by an ex-girlfriend — believed_[[by whom?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Words_to_watch%23Unsupported_attributions)]_ to be Ocean — and other unnamed conspirators. Testimony during the trial was given by Kluger, Eshel, deVita, McCallister and Frazier, as well as NYPD officers.[15][16]

Becker was convicted of grand larceny in the first degree and sentenced to serve 7 to 10 years,[17] eventually serving five years, eight months, and 12 days.[18]

**Other conspirators**

Becker is the only person so far convicted in connection with the disappearance of the Toussaint. However, many experts_[[who?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Words_to_watch%23Unsupported_attributions)]_ consider he must have had at least one female co-conspirator, to impersonate the four women who placed the jewelry containing the reworked diamonds for auction after the event. Many experts also believe at least one co-conspirator would have been present at the Gala to help Becker conceal the necklace during the evacuation and search.

**References**

[1] ["The Costume Institute | The Metropolitan Museum of Art"](http://www.metmuseum.org/about-the-met/curatorial-departments/the-costume-institute). www.metmuseum.org. Retrieved May 14, 2018.  
[2] Metropolitan Museum's Costume Institute Announces Theme, Guests for 2018 Gala" (Press release). New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. November 2017. Retrieved May 14, 2018.  
[3] "Metropolitan Museum's Costume Institute Showcases Historical Fashion of European Royalty" (Press release). New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. June 2015. Retrieved May 14, 2018.  
[4] "Not So Fast! Daphne Swipes A Rose" New York Post March 22, 2018. Archived from the original on March 22, 2018. Retrieved August 24, 2018  
[5] "Talking Fashion: Rose Weil" _Vogue June 2017_  
[6] Ekins, Susan, "Mystery at the Met: the Curious Case of the Disappearing Toussaint" _The Atlantic, August 2020._  
[7] Soderbergh, Steven, "Mopeds, Mascara and the Long Shadow of THAT Necklace: Daphne Kluger Reveals The Challenges of Her Directorial Debut" _Empire September 2021_  
[8] “Barfing my guts up while my $150 million necklace was stolen" New York Post May 19, 2018. Archived from the original on May 19, 2018. Retrieved August 24, 2018  
[9] "Banksy Hits the MET. Phantom Artist Adds to the Collection" New York Post April 6, 2018. Archived from the original on April 6, 2018. Retrieved August 24, 2018  
[10] "$150 million diamond necklace stolen during Met Gala" NY Times. May 8, 2018 Archived from the original on May 8, 2018. Retrieved August 24, 2018  
[11] "Sentence for SoHo art gallery fraud" NY Times. June 13, 2017. Archived from the original on October 4 2012. Retrieved September 16, 2018  
[12] "SoHo art dealer arrested for $150 million necklace theft" NY Times. May 24, 2018. Archived from the original on May 24, 2018. Retrieved August 24, 2018  
[13] "'I didn't do it!' Art dealer pleads not guilty to $150 million necklace theft" New York Post. May 25, 2018. Archived from the original on May 25, 2018. Retrieved August 24, 2018  
[14] "Motion to dismiss evidence in Met Gala theft denied — trial to proceed" NY Times. June 5, 2018. Archived from the original on June 5, 2018. Retrieved August 24, 2018  
[15] "Met Gala Theft Day 2: Kluger takes stand" NY Times. October 10, 2018, Archived from the original on October 10, 2018. Retrieved October 21, 2018  
[16] "Met Gala Theft Day 3: Security, Insurance Testify" NY Times. October 11, 2018. Archived from the original on October 11, 2018. Retrieved October 21, 2018  
[17] "Art dealer convicted of Met Gala theft sentenced to 7 to 10 years" NY Times. October 17, 2018. Archived from the original on October 17, 2018. Retrieved October 21, 2018  
[18] "Art dealer convicted of Met Gala theft released, still protesting innocence" NY Times. January 24, 2024. Archived from the original on January 24, 2024. Retrieved January 26, 2024


End file.
